‘Flexibility’ key to bus route needs

Cambridge Times

Complaints raised by two university students has resulted in improvements to a regional bus route.

In October, Wilfrid Laurier students Jameson Glosenk and Bhawneet Gulati brought to regional council’s attention problems on Route 9 Lakeshore. The bus was constantly jammed and students were left stranded at stops.

Planning commissioner Rob Horne said routes serving universities are monitored at the beginning of the school year. What Grand River Transit staff look for are changes in student travel patterns. Based on monitoring, as well as customer and driver feedback, changes to the route were made in September and October.

Horne explained that each year the GRT sets aside 500 contingency hours to address the fluctuating needs of bus routes. This year, 312 hours were allotted to Route 9.

“This is the kind of flexibility I think we need to put in place in our transit system as a matter of course,” said Coun. Sean Strickland in response to the report. “This is an example of the evolution of our transit system. We need to see more of it.”